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Harpo Marx
Previous episode: In Palm Springs Next episode: The Dancing Star http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/DosHarpos.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/MarxMertz.jpg Plot Lucy panics to figure out a way to get Carolyn to believe that there's going to be a party of movie stars. Ethel cuts the strap on Carolyn's glasses and hides them, so Lucy can appear at the front door in movie star masks. But when it's time for her to play Harpo Marx, she discovers that the real Harpo is already in the hotel room, causing mischief. Trivia *This episode's order is very strange. This episode was filmed first, but its plot and its broadcast date both place it after "The Dancing Star." Lucy has to make the party of movie stars that Carolyn announces she can stay for at the end of "The Dancing Star." There is no given reason why "Harpo Marx" was filmed first, and it was silly to have been done this way. *The mirror scene Lucy and Harpo do is from Duck Soup. *Lucy was in a movie with the Marx Brothers in 1938, called Room Service. Harpo was her favorite, naturally. *Harpo plays "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on his harp. Watch Vivian Vance's expression during the performance. It is clear that she is enthralled by his performance. You can see her grimace when he uses his knuckles to play the harp strings at one point. Harpo's son, Bill Marx, did this incredible harp arrangement for his dad especially for this episode. *Since Harpo never did anything the same way twice, he was very difficult for perfectionist Lucy to work with on the mirror scene. They filmed it over and over again after the audience went home. *Pay close attention to the 'mirror' bit next time you watch the episode. Note that Lucy is using the wrong hand to 'toot the horn' in the bit. Harpo uses his right hand; Lucy uses her right hand, too, rather than her left, which she should have done to make the mirror illusion work right! What is amazing about this flub is that Lucy repeatedly rehearsed this bit with Harpo and still missed it. By the way, Harpo was very opposed to repeated rehearsals, but Lucy insisted upon it! They filmed it over and over again after the audience went home, as stated above - and still committed the erroneous film bit to the can after editing! It is surprising that no one caught it at the time! *The full "celebrity guest list" for Lucy's fake party consists of Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Walter Pidgeon, Jimmy Durante, and Harpo Marx. We don't see Lucy's impersonation of Bing Crosby or Walter Pidgeon. Furthermore, according to "The Dancing Star," Cary Grant and Marlon Brando were also supposed to appear, but since that episode was filmed after this one, it's understandable why the guest list had discrepancies between the two episodes. *Harpo pantomimes the word "benefit" by acting out the words "bend," "knee," and "feet." *Shortly before this episode was filmed (March, 1955), Harpo Marx had a heart attack. His doctor didn't think he should be on the show, due to his weak heart, but Harpo wanted to do the episode. And he did and had fun. But he ended up having another heart attack shortly after doing the episode. Still, he lived to be 75, passing away September 28, 1964, of a heart attack after undergoing heart surgery the day before. *At the end, Ricky dresses up like Groucho, and Fred dresses up like Chico. * For more great insight into the life and times of Harpo Marx, including comments on Harpo's role in this episode, visit his son Bill's web site: http://www.harposplace.com/index.php Quotes *Lucy: Ricky, I'm not asking for much. All I want is half-a-dozen movie stars for a couple of hours! *Ricky: Kill yourself you don't get the movie stars? Lucy: Yes! Ricky: Well, you've got a lovely day for it! *Lucy: I was just trying to see if I was real nearsighted if maybe you couldn't pass for Marilyn Monroe. Ethel: Yeah? Lucy: Yeah, pull your hair down over one eye. Now, walk like Marilyn... Oh, no. Nobody's THAT nearsighted! *Ethel: Oh, Lucy, why don't you just shoot Carolyn when she walks through the door? Then, you won't have to bother about getting the celebrity masks. *Carolyn: Borrow sugar? In a hotel? Ethel: Oh, well, we're just all one big, happy family here! *Lucy: (as Clark Gable) Got a little laryngitis, baby! *Ethel: (holds Carolyn back from Clark Lucy) You'll catch his cold! Carolyn: Well, who cares! Imagine me being able to tell the girls back home that I caught a cold from Clark Gable! *Carolyn: That must be another celebrity! Ethel: I doubt it, so soon. Carolyn: Why? Ethel: Why? Well, movie stars usually space themselves further apart than this! *Carolyn: gotta fix my face before Harpo gets back. Ethel: (under her breath) Yeah, fix your face...﻿